Hiding veggies again… this time in cupcakes!
I love the wonderful root vegetables that start to populate the grocery stores after the first frost. Colourful carrots, turnips, squash, pumpkins and one of my favourites – parsnips. Why don’t people eat more parsnips? They precious one of the qualities I cherish the most… sweetness!
Parsnips, if you don’t know, look like carrots, but are much paler, almost white. The parsnip is richer in vitamins and minerals than its close relative, the carrot. It is particularly rich in potassium with 600 mg per 100 g. The parsnip is also a good source of dietary fiber.
So, in my continued quest to “hide veggies” in recipes, in order to add more nutrients and fiber, a parsnip looked like the perfect thing to add to… let’s say… cupcakes!
These gems are moist and yummy, almost like carrot cake, but milder and sweeter. I tried half of them with cream cheese icing and half with caramel – both were delicious! Enjoy!
| Vanilla & Spice Parsnip Cupcakes |
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup oil
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups parsnips, grated (2 medium)
- Cream Cheese Icing:
- 250g cream cheese
- 1/2 cup soft butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups icing sugar
- Carmel Icing:
- 3/4 cup soft butter
- 1-1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup 10% cream
- 3 cups icing sugar
- Preheat oven to 350º F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together brown sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla and parsnip. Stir in flour mixture until well blended.
- Line 10 standard muffin cups. Divide batter among cups. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
- In a large bowl, make either frosting and spread onto cooked cupcakes.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!